Elena

Elena O. is from the village of Galas, Dipolog City. She is 62 years old, married, and has five adult-aged children. To make a living, she owns and operates a sari-sari (general) store, selling a variety of different products in the local community. She has been engaged in her business for over three years and earns approximately $75 a month from these activities.

In 2008, Elena joined PMPC to gain access to financial services to help improve her living situation and ability to engage in business activities. She has successfully repaid a previous loan of 10,000 PHP from PMPC. This previous loan was used to purchase additional inventory and as working capital. Elena is requesting a new loan of 8,000 PHP which will be used to purchase additional inventory for her store. This will be her 6th loan from PMPC. She plans to use the additional revenue generated to expand her business.

About PMPC:

Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC is one of the most progressive cooperatives in northwestern Mindanao. It reaches out to the rural poor using the Grameen model.

*Note: To maximize efficiency and reduce costs, this loan was posted using a template to automate the translation by Kiva. Given that manual translation of entrepreneur profiles is costly, Kiva created this template for our Field Partner to allow them to continue to post loans in English while providing quality and accurate information to Kiva lenders.

Additional Information

About Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative

Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC) was founded in 1992 by the beneficiaries, parents and staff of the Paglaum Community Development Foundation to address economic and livelihood activities for sustainability. The organization operates in the northwestern provinces of Mindanao and Visayas.

In the local vernacular, “paglaum” means “hope.” The initial foundation is dedicated to child development through a holistic approach. The goal is to build self-reliance and expand opportunity so the poorest of the poor can help themselves.